Desire to adopt births group

A fund-raiser to raise money to give Dima a home is set for later this month.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Brandi Schuman knew the minute she saw Dima last summer she wanted to adopt him, but about $23,000 stood in the way.
Schuman can't have children, but she's always wanted to be a mother.
She and her mother, Vonnie Parry, started Forever Families Funding along with two other women to raise money for people who want to adopt children.
Schuman wants to adopt Dima, a 13-year-old Russian boy who lives in an orphanage in St. Petersburg. With air fare, administrative costs, visas and all of the related paperwork, costs are high.
"I can more than afford to give him a good home, but it's just coming up with $23,000 all at once that's difficult," she said.
The organization, formed about a year ago, plans a motorcycle poker run June 15, starting and ending at Mike's Lounge in Austintown, as a fund-raiser. The cost is $10 per person, and prizes will be awarded. Other fund-raisers also are planned.
Schuman conducts candy sales at MasterCuts in Eastwood Mall, where she works as a hairstylist.
Creating hope
Besides raising enough to adopt Dima and bring him to the United States, Schuman wants to help eliminate the financial barriers for others who want to adopt.
"It's so expensive that the cost is a hindrance for a lot of people," Schuman said.
With so many children available for adoption around the world, Schuman doesn't believe costs should impose barriers.
She met Dima through Project Hope, an organization that works to find homes for children. He and a group of seven other children available for adoption from a Russian orphanage came to the area for a month last summer.
Schuman got involved with Project Hope through Believers Christian Fellowship Church, where a friend of Schuman attended. Schuman has since become a member of the church.
"They said there were eight kids coming to the area who needed homes," Schuman said.
An instant family
When they met at the airport, it was love at first sight.
"He was just an absolute doll," she said. "He looks like my nieces and nephews. The minute I looked at him, I knew I wanted him to come home -- to give him a home," the Warren woman said.
Schuman doesn't speak Russian and Dima speaks only a bit of English, but dictionaries of both languages helped them through the tough spots.
"Within a half-hour, I absolutely decided that I wanted to adopt him, no matter what it took," she said.
They visited the Trumbull County Fair and other area attractions. Dima took to Parry, who he called Memaw, like her other grandchildren do.
"He looked for my mother and would pull out chairs for her," she said.
Return to Russia
Schuman and her family bought the boy clothes and toys, but rules at the orphanage allow him to keep only one outfit for himself. The rest must be divided among other children at the orphanage.
Although it's considered one of the better orphanages in St. Petersburg, medical equipment is outdated and the children far outnumber the staff.
The parental rights of the boy's biological parents were terminated because of drug use, Schuman said, and at 13, the boy is considered difficult to adopt.
Because of Project Hope rules, Schuman and her family weren't able to tell Dima of their plans to adopt him until the last day of his stay.
Since he got on the plane in August to go back to Russia, Schuman has been working to raise the money to adopt him. She talks to him on the phone occasionally.
Forever Families Funding may be reached at (330) 898-1364. Schuman has raised about $2,500 so far. She's buying a house, which Project Hope must inspect to ensure it includes enough space for the boy.
After the inspection, Schuman plans to apply for a grant and a loan, which, combined with the $2,500 and other money expected to be raised, will provide enough by the end of the summer to adopt the boy.
She plans to continue with the organization to help other people in her situation.
"I don't want anyone else to go through the heartbreak that I'm going through," Schuman said.
dick@vindy.com